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Home » Hobbies Articles » Vietnamese Art Uncovering The Passion Beneath

Vietnamese Art: Uncovering The Passion Beneath

It's not been long since Vietnamese art established its ground in the past century. With the Ecole De Beaux Arts opening its doors to local students some 70 years back, began the slow diffusion of Vietnamese art into the local scenario. However, the cultural inception of Vietnamese art goes back much further. When the first lessons in line drawing, anatomy, and landscape painting were offered in the first half of the 20th century, art students began to make use of the rich cultural and religious background to bring new flavor to their work. Village huts, farmers, and daily life formed the themes of the paintings. The tradition of lacquer and silk paintings had already begun very early and were used in temple decorations. The French colonial period saw a rise in the number of students taking to painting. These upcoming artists possessed sufficient skill but lacked the means to display them to perfection. However, the scenario has undergone a sea change today with modern artists executing their abilities combining traditional and innovative styles.

Art connoisseurs outside Vietnam often point out some striking resemblance of Vietnamese painting to European painting. But it would be absolutely wrong to assume that Vietnamese art is a mere replica of its European counterpart. An important justification of this is the desire of Vietnam artists to make them acceptable throughout the world. The resemblance to European painting is often deliberate, expressing their wish to be treated seriously by art lovers worldwide. Most Vietnam artists borrow Western art techniques, but the content always pertains to the intricacies and complexities of past Vietnamese cultural life. The Vietnam artists too, like others, are moved by their surroundings and have opted for a sensitive medium to put their identities into canvas using colors and poetic imagery.

Generations of Vietnam artists have executed their work brilliantly. No two artists display similar characteristics. Rather, each one has his unique style. Among the artists of the older generation, Bui Xuan Phai earned a name for having traded paintings for food during the period of serious economic hardship. The younger generation of artists aims to make a mark for themselves in the widening intellectual and business arena. This generation of young artists also reflects to move away from the past and create an indelible mark on the future. Use of motifs, symbols, emblems form the chief weapons by which these artists try to convey the multiple emotions and feelings.

For long, Vietnam artists lacked the opportunities to exhibit their skill in other parts of the world. Their imagination, however, did not wane away. Rather, it gave way to fresher ideas leading to experimentation. Vietnamese fine art has thus new dimension and is being widely acclaimed by art connoisseurs worldwide.

And here is another random article you might be interested in...

Clients...Do You Really Need Them?

Running a successful business takes a lot of energy and there are so many areas that as a business owner you need to pay attention too.

It's not enough to spend heaps of time, money and resources into getting buyers for your goods and services and then leaving those clients/customers to their own devices.

If you want to work less, have more time and make more money one very important aspect you have to take care of on an ongoing basis is nurturing those people who are prepared to spend their money with you.

You cannot afford to take their money, sell the goods or perform the services and then hope they will call you when they need too.

The Hairdresser

A couple of weeks ago I visited my hairdresser for my regular appointment. Now I have been loyally going to this hairdresser for at least 2 years, approximately every six weeks.

On this particular occasion there were a couple of clients having their hair coloured and the owner and another assistant were fawning over three kittens which had kindly been supplied by the local vet.

Apparently the vet was looking for a good home for the kittens and John,the owner and another staff member were going to take them home. The kittens were staying the afternoon at the salon for the benefit of their new owners (my hairdresser and his assistant).

So here we were in an upmarket salon, with three kittens running around and the staff paying more attention to them than the clients.

The second incident that occurred happened after I had my hair washed. I was left sitting in a chair waiting whilst John who is my hairdresser casually took his time looking at another client's holiday photos. That wasted at least 5 minutes. (Some people may not be bothered about having their time wasted, but unfortunately for John, I wasn't one of them).

When he finally comes over, instead of asking me how am I going, or commenting about the condition of my hair, he proceeds to tell me all the details about his life (as he usually does) and is so focussed on himself he was oblivious to the fact that without people like me (a paying client), he wouldn't be in business.

It doesn't end there. The final straw came when his mobile phone rang in the middle of my haircut. With no apology or saying to me "excuse me, I must take this call ", he answers the phone and wanders off for another 5 minutes.

By this time I was ready to explode. Instead, being the cool, calm and collected person that I am (sometimes), I took some deep breaths and vowed I would never go there again.

How Much Money Do You Lose?

As a regular client who had an average spend of $110 every six weeks (that's for a colour and cut), I would be worth around $900 a year plus any product I would buy.

And that's another thing, John often complained about not having enough income, yet he never trained his staff how to sell additional products. People (particularly women) would readily purchase shampoos, conditioners, gels etc. if his staff would proactively recommend it.

They only sold product by default, when a client mentioned they had run out or asked questions. I was one of those clients who asked questions about the various products and was ready to buy, except they were always out of stock! (See how being disorganised affects your income!)

Focus on What Counts

Being a great hairdresser, accountant, coach or anything else for that matter doesn't automatically mean your clients will continue to invest their money with you.

You have to pay attention to them by being proactive in looking after them and not reactive when they complain.

In fact most people will not tell you if they are unhappy with your goods or services, they will just take their business elsewhere. They'll also spread the word by telling other people about their experiences with you thereby damaging your reputation and potential for future clients.

The Final Word

Look at how your business is run. Survey your clients and find out how they really find your goods/services, customer care, follow up service etc. After all, wouldn't they know how good you really are? You and your team may think you're great but it's what your clients think (and pay for) that counts.

It would also be worthwhile investing in a great book by Keith Abraham entitled "Creating Loyal Profitable Customers' - 47 ways to turn your customers into passionate purchasers (available from our office for only $24.95 plus $5 postage).

So don't delay. Get yourself organised so that you have time to focus on what really counts.